1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns surfacing compositions, and, more particularly, improved surfacing compositions for paving asphalt roadways, paths, and other areas.
2. Description of the Related Art
When roads are rehabilitated, typically material is milled and removed and replaced by newly made asphalt material. Thus, so-called “hot mix” is brought to the construction site and placed on the milled area. One disadvantage with this process is that it is time consuming because it requires two operations. In one operation, the road is milled up, and the material is removed. Then, in the second operation, the “hot mix” asphalt is transported to the site and placed on the milled pavement. Another disadvantage with such a process is that the milled material is often not reused. Still other disadvantages include that hot asphalt can be difficult and messy to work with and worker's health and safety are of major importance, in that the addition of hot asphalt adds significantly more volatile organic compounds (VOC's).
Some attempts have been made to recycle the bituminous material that makes up the road and use them in rehabilitation operations. However, these processes are believed to have consistency problems that result in undesired performance. Moreover, environmental concerns have caused legislation to be enacted that prohibits the use of petroleum additives to recycled bituminous materials in some areas. And most recently, the cost escalation of petroleum products has made a tremendous impact on resurfacing and surface maintenance of existing asphalt roadways.